USAID and the Fragility of Foreign Funding -By Kene Obiezu

When Donald Trump won the US presidential election in November 2024,many feared that the worst had happened. Eccentric, defiant and extremely unpredictable, many knew what the man who had shaken up US local and foreign policy between 2015 and 2020 could do. What they did not know and feared greatly was what he was going to do.

A sort of panic greeted the period immediately after his election. Joe Biden, the incumbent, took some frantic last-minute decisions as he prepared to leave office. Biden’s actions in granting a pardon to some of his family members was clearly one of the most visible actions taken because Trump was looming on the horizon, but there is no doubt that many others took steps as they prepared to confront the inevitable.

The Inevitable finally happened on January 25th 2025 and Trump has failed to disappoint. There was always the ret that his second coming would be more eventful than the first. At 78, he is a man of untold wealth and uncommon means who would have done his second term as US president by the time he leaves office. He is unlikely to contest for any other office after that. A man of his age, personal and political standing is most dangerous because he has nothing to lose and can swing freely.
There have been piercing executive orders reaffirming traditional gender roles and putting unbearable pressure on those who identify otherwise.

Migrants have also felt the weight of Trump’s disdain. The US is a global melting pot. Thus, while most decisions taken by Trump have primarily affected people in the US. Many people around the world have also felt the weight of those decisions.

Shortly after he was sworn in, Trump announced that he was freezing funding to the United States International Development Agency (USAID) to assess programmatic efficiencies and alignment with U.S. Foreign policy. While it was recently accused of sponsoring terrorism around the world, through a multitude of partners and collaborators implementing diverse programs around the world, USAID has over the years made many invaluable contributions in social development, funding many crucial interventions around the world.

With Trump abruptly freezing funding for three months, many projects around the world have come to a grinding halt. This has also jeopardized the employment of many who counted on USAID funding to keep the critical contributions they make coming and to keep them in a job. About 28,000 health workers paid with the support of USAID have been affected by the funding freeze.  The whole episode is gradually unraveling into a catastrophe.

What has also been exposed is the brutal nature and unpredictability of reliance on foreign aid in any form. It also underlines once and for all the understated importance of self-sufficiency and self-reliance for government and individuals around the world. This is doubly important in a world where the aphorism that he who pays the piper dictates the tune has never been truer.

Nigeria has been brutally affected by the USAID funding freeze. It is scrambling to absorb about 28,000 health workers whose salaries have been affected. With USAID holding Nigeria by the jugular in such a manner, Nigeria would struggle to do anything about the jarring revelation that USAID may be sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria.

The model of reliance on aid or funding for key projects and interventions has never been sustainable. It is not about to be, especially under someone as unpredictable as President Donald Trump.

Kene Obiezu

Kene Obiezu,
keneobiezu@gmail.com